Metal Theft And Hungarian Anomie

I've written about the rising price of industrial metals causing the epidemic of metal theft around the world. So many posts, I'm thinking of making it a new blog category. I've often felt, unarticulated of course, that this kind of thievery is reminiscent of anarchical societies portrayed in movies. Not necessarily shooting each other over a gallon of gasoline like in Mad Max, but when people are stealing church bells, cemetery grave markers, and electrocuting themselves over copper wire, one has to conclude there is a deeper story than just the speculatory pricing of copper and iron. An opinion writer in Hungary has linked this parasitic behavior to anomie, he calls it anomia from ancient Greek, which is social instability caused by erosion of standards and values. He may be on to something, since this "broken window" concept was the key aspect of Rudy Giuliani's approach to reducing crime in New York City.

The concept, in short, is how a broken window, left unrepaired in a neighborhood, is an advertisement to criminal elements that the residents have given up civic pride and have begun to eschew a mistrust of local law enforcement. The broken window, tagged graffiti, or any petty criminal act is a symptom of civic decline, which only encourages more serious crime. The growing pothole is also a sign of civic decline, of growing mistrust between residents and local government. First on the residents' part, who shrug shoulders and don't report the need for repair. Second, on the government, who won't authorize the repair if one of the civil servants notices, doesn't report it, or won't act unless a complaint form has been filled out.

Is there something more to rising metal theft? Why do the stories only point to the price of copper on world markets, but do not investigate the reasons for this price hike? When a man in Russia can steal a bridge and only gets caught trying to sell it, I think there might be more to metal theft than just the price of metal.